The Catalyst
by Dreilide
Summary: I used to know them. We used to be friends. Now, in this new life, I am the catalyst for their lives, their fates, and most importantly, their deaths.


The Catalyst  
Chapter 1: A Murder in the Marketplace

* * *

In order to survive on the planet of Alternia, there were two simple skills that a troll needed to learn how to do. One had to learn how to be powerful. One had to learn how to be feared. Many great figures in history would learn these two skills in a heartbeat, and use them to make the best of their lives. The trolls who couldn't learn these skills were destined for a life of servitude, or a very short life. However, maybe having a short life wouldn't have been such a terrible fate.

I was both of these things. I was powerful, and I was feared. My deeds made me the envy of many trolls. Some trolls saw me as a god among their planet, while others saw me a demon. There were even some trolls who thought that I was death itself. Whatever they saw me as, whether they loved or hated me, they knew my power and respected it.

What they didn't know is what the cost of my strength was. They didn't know the life of slavery I was condemned to. The sad truth of it was that no amount of might would have been able to save me from this fate. I was the servant to one of the most powerful evils ever to come into existence. My life would be spent committing deeds done by no will of my own, until finally, I would be murdered. My murderer would take my place, and thus, the cycle would repeat.

I was The Handmaid.

* * *

If things were drastically different, my master could have easily ended up being a director of movies, or perhaps the ringmaster in a circus. He could have even been an author. My master was someone who had a vision. He knew everything he needed to have happen, every little detail. He had a story in his head that would shape into the entire history of Alternia. His story would be that of war, violence, and strife. It would be a tale with epic battles, brave heros, murder, deceit, and even love. For every even in this tale, I would be involved in some way. Whether it was by direct interference or through a chain of events, it could all eventually be led back to me. I never understood most of my tasks, many of which seemed quite pointless. I was always amazed to watch the chain of events that would occur and lead to something grand. I would become an audience, watching as my master's story played out. I would watch with amazement how one event would lead to another. I would also feel the pains of guilt, as occasionally, a innocent troll would get curse in the uncontrollable maelstrom of events. But that was how it needed to be.

* * *

The first task every assigned to me was nothing more than the simple murder of a highblooded merchant. At that time, I was about the troll equivalent of six sweeps old. My target was honestly nobody important, nobody of particular influence anyways. I didn't understand what the point of his death would be, but I would comply anyways.

This would be the first time I would see the brilliance of my master. This murder would take place directly after the troll known as The Sufferer was killed for his blasphemous ideas. Even though the revolution was technically over, there was still a great deal of tension in the air. The simple death of this merchant would start a long riot. The ground would be painted with the colors of the rainbow.

The village where my task was to take place was a large port town on the coast of the sea. Merchants of all blood colors gathered there in the hopes of making a profit off of their goods. It was also one of Alternia's hotspots for purchasing slaves. It had become quite famous for it, actually. The feared ruler herself had been known to participate in the slave auctions at times.

I walked through the main square, while multiple merchants tried to enchant me with their goods. I did my best to ignore them. I knew I needed to focus on finding my target. The sooner I got this job over with, the sooner I could go on to my next job. However, it was hard not to get distracted. This was my first time being in my home planet before its destruction. This was my first time being in a situation with other trolls. It was absolutely fascinating, if not a bit overwhelming!

"Hand woven robes, made from the finest materials in Alternia!"  
"Weapons! Get your weapons right here! The strongest weapon you'll ever have!"

"Juicy, delectable beetle cakes! The favorite food of the Grand Highblood Himself!"  
"Need something to spice up your relationship with your Kismesis or Matesprit? Come look at our personalized buckets!"

"Slave auction later today, selling the finest slaves Alternia has to offer at incredible prices!"

As odd as it sounded, I was actually happy. This job was an adventure of sorts. Even if it wasn't something I was doing by my own will, it wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Being in the square, watching the town burst with so much energy, I began to thought that maybe my life wouldn't be that bad. I could easily get used to this.

After looking around the square for a little bit, I was finally able to spot my target. I grinned. Maybe if I finished this off quickly, I could have some more time to wander around. Maybe I could find out the troll equivalent of money, and actually get something. I followed my target with a little more determination, careful not to let him slip away.

My target walked up to the troll advertising the slave action, a sea-dwelling slave trader. They gave each other a friendly hello. Maybe they knew each other.

I tried not to be noticed by the two highbloods, and just looked at the merchandise of the nearest shop, the shop of a rustblood selling the buckets.

"Aren't you a bit too young to need one of these, you grubbling?" The troll at the shop asked me.

"It's just a bucket, right?" I asked, naively. I don't know if it could be considered a benefit, or a downside, but I didn't understand what the use of the bucket was at the time.

Looking back on it, I didn't even need to attempt to not be noticed by the two highbloods, as they were too wrapped up in their conversation to even notice me. But, the bucket shop did have its benefits. I was able to tune into their conversation, a little bit.

"She doesn't look all that useful to me," my target said, "she looks weak...almost dead. Although, I suppose that isn't surprising. What is she, a rust blood?"

It was then that I noticed that the slave trader had another troll with him; a female. She was in chains. She was a slave. I didn't know why, but there was something about her that seemed very familiar. I couldn't quite place it, though. I was suddenly intrigued by the conversation, and listened a little harder.

The slave trader gave a hearty laugh.

"You would be quite surprised, my friend," he laughed, "Despite her utterly pathetic appearance, this one actually has quite the blood color."

"Yellow?"

"Jade."

My target let out a gasp, as he looked at the slave. She looked away from the two men, trying not to look at them.

"My, my," he said, grabbing a hold of her chin, roughly forcing her to look at him. She winced, "the things I could do with you. How much is she?"

"Her starting price at the auction will be a generous 33 gold pieces."

My target groaned, "You've got to be kidding me. I could buy three yellows for that!"

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor. I'm not supposed to reveal the blood color of my merchandise before the auction. If you're lucky, everyone else will make the same mistake you did in thinking she's a rust blood. They'll think she's overpriced, and you'll end up making fools of all of them as you gain possession of a jadey here."

It was then I noticed that as they were talking, the slave was looking at me. Our eyes met. I didn't hear the rest of the other trolls conversation. The only thing I could focus on was her eyes.

They were a intense yellow. Her gaze held a look of shock and surprise. As if she knew me. Her eyes held so much pain, and so much emotion. I didn't know how to react. She appeared to mouth something to me.

"You," her lips said silently.

I quickly looked away. How could she know me? I needed to take my mind off of her. I grabbed the nearest bucket from the shop owner, and screamed "I'll take this one. How much?"

He stared at me blankly.

"Um...I guess I'll trade it for one of those fancy little buttons you have on your robe there."

I pulled off my button, handed it over, and the bucket was mine.

When I looked back, my target and the slave trader were parting ways, with my target walking into the nearest building. I followed him with ease.

Walking into his shop, I saw glass items everywhere. Glass of all different color...it was beautiful. I didn't really have time to admire the shop, however. It was the two of us. I could strike now.

My target looked at me, and gave me a grin that made my skin crawl.  
"Sorry, we're closed," he said in a sickly sweet voice, "Unless you have other intentions with that bucket of yours."

I panicked. Since I was unaware of what trolls actually did with the bucket, I took his statement to mean that he knew I was going to kill him. I dropped the bucket, and pulled out the two wands I kept in my hair. His eyes widened, as I summoned energy. He screamed as the shot blasted through him, and he limped the the floor, dead. Glass all around us shattered, some of it cutting me. That was much more noisy than I had originally intended. I panicked, and ran out of the building. The only evidence that I was there would be the bucket that I left behind.

I ran through the streets, as far away from the building as I could. I wasn't even looking where I was going. I just ran.

I ended up in the center of the town, where the slave trader from earlier was planning to have his auction. I didn't stop running, until I bumped into someone, and fell down. Looking up, I saw that it was the slave from earlier.

We stared at each other again, not knowing how to react. Her eyes looked at me from the same intensity as earlier. I slowly stood up, again, not knowing how to react.

This made it all the more confusing when she was able to break from her chains. Before I had any time to process anything, she had me pin to a wall. I let out a yelp.

Our eyes met again, and this time I was able to identify another emotion in them. Pure rage. For what, I did not know. I didn't think of what I could have done. I was focusing on getting free from her grasp.

There were shouts from the crowd at the chaos, and soon, she was being pulled off of me from the slave traders. People were shouting and screaming, both amazed and panicked that a slave could break out of her chains so easily.

Her nails dug into my skin. Even though I had been given so much power, at that moment, I was completely helpless. I was at this slave's mercy. Holding me down hard with one arm, she raised the other. I closed my eyes, preparing for the worse. Maybe my master was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, this slave would be the one to kill me after all.

I was surprised, when her wait was pulled off from me, and I fell to the ground. I saw a group of highbloods working to subdue the enraged slave, who was now thrashing. They all seemed surprised. What could have brought on this anger from her?

"You're going to pay for that!" one of the traders yelled out. It took a while, but they were finally able to get her to her knees. One of the slave traders brought out a knife, and raised it.

"I'll show you for acting out of place," he threatened. The slave continued to thrash, but she couldn't get out of their grasp. Suddenly, one of the other slavers grabbed his arm.

"No! It's fine," he said, "the girl's only a rust blood. Look."

My rust colored blood was slowly oozing out from the places she had dug into my skin. They soon had her back in chains, and the scene was normal again.

"You lucked out, slave," the slaver with the knife said. They led her away.

I took a deep breath, wiping some of my blood away. The square returned to normal.

What I didn't know, was that whole scenario had been watched with curious eyes. I saw her out of the corner of my eye, a tall female troll with a small smile. I started to feel the same sense that I knew this troll, just like I had done with the slave. It was unnerving. She walked up to me, and bent down to my level.

"Tell me, rustblood. That slave. Do you know if she will be one of the slaves offered at the auction?"

"Um..." I hesitated. I simply nodded. Her grin grew, and without saying another word, she walked away.

I ended up staying in the town for the auction, finding myself a bench where I could watch everything happened. I didn't know why I wanted to stay. I was hurt, and just generally confused with the days events. The house of my master seemed surprisingly welcoming, for once. But I stayed, watching the slaves be sold one by one. For some of the slaves, the bidding-wars went on for what seemed like forever. Others just stood there awkwardly, as not a troll offered a single piece.

My assailant was the last troll to be brought up to the stage. I couldn't help but noticed that she seemed to have been roughed up, since I saw her last. She was encased in more chains than usual. She was calm again, and she was looking down.

Before the auctioner even had time to say anything, the female troll from before stood up.

"Three-hundred gold pieces!" She shouted out. There was a gasp among the crowd, as everybody turned to look at her. I could hear the mutterings from the rest of the crowd.

"Why would any troll in their right mind pay that much for such a lowly looking troll?"

Even the slave herself looked quite surprised by that price. The tall female troll only laughed. There was a certain twinkle in her eye.

"Do we have any other offers?" The auctioneer asked, not that he needed an answer. The crowd was dead silent.

"Sold! To...

"Marquise Spinneret Mindfang." the troll interrupted, "And don't any of you forget that name."

And suddenly, I seemed to remember something. I remember being on a device known as a computer, talking to somebody I used to know.

AG: I'm going to change my name to Spinneret Mindfang would 8e such a cool name, wouldn't you agree? I just has a certain ring to it, you know?  
AA: i guess it w0uld be an 0kay name...but...what's wr0ng with aranea?  
AG: Aranea's sounds like the name of a teacher or something 8oring like that. 8ut Spinneret, on the other hand...it just has more adventures possi8ilites to it, don't you think?

I watched as the Marquise walked up to take ahold of her newly acquired purchase. Sure enough, she showed the crowd her three-hundred gold pieces. She grinned at her new slave. "I'm taking a gamble on you, slave. Don't let me down," she said. The moment was interrupted, however, when a panicked looking troll came running in, screaming.

"Murder! Tidino was murdered by a lowblood! Tadano was murdered by a lowblood."

I quickly left the area, as the crowd of highbloods reacted to this information. As I made my way out, I watched the Marquise used the crowd's confusion to grab her slave and her three-hundred gold pieces, and slip away. They passed by me as they left, where the Marquise looked at me, the same twinkle in her eye. "Like I was actually going to pay that much for a slave," she laughed, "It looks like a riots about to start. I'd get the hell out of here while you can, lowblood." I didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

**This is just a little test run. I'm looking for lots of critizism here. I hope you all enjoyed!  
**


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